Oprah Winfrey does not mess around.
The divorce between Vernon Winfrey, Oprah’s father, and Barbara Winfrey, her stepmother, was finalized last year. Then Barbara Winfrey found herself evicted from the $1.4 million home Oprah had purchased for her and her father after they were married in 2001.
Oprah wasn’t exactly playing the wicked stepdaughter, though – she did offer Barbara Winfrey a much more modest property that Barbara and Vernon Winfrey had previously owned but lost ownership of, along with two other properties, including Vernon Winfrey’s barbershop. Records show that Oprah Winfrey’s Phoenix Trust II paid a total of $475,100 in order to purchase all three of the properties after they had fallen into foreclosure. According to Nicole Nichols, spokeswoman for Oprah Winfrey, Oprah had offered Barbara the house she had lost “free and clear.”
But it seems Barbara refused…perhaps because the deal hinged upon Barbara Winfrey signing a confidentiality agreement about Oprah Winfrey. In fact, Barbara turned down a second offer from Oprah Winfrey – to sell the much pricier, luxury home and split the proceeds equally, but Barbara still refused.
It seems likely that perhaps Barbara has more than a few tales to tell on Oprah that she must think are worth more than 50 percent of $1.4 million…and she has already started .
Barbara Winfrey was supposed to be out of the house owned by Winfrey in early April, but she apparently was unsuccessful in finding a new residence, as she asked the judge for an extension on her eviction. Oprah Winfrey agreed first to a 30-day extension, and then capitulated to a 60-day extension.
But time is up, and not only is Barbara Winfrey out, she is auctioning off the items from the home, many of which were purchased by Oprah for her father and his then-wife.
The auction is being handled by McLemore Auction Company. It’s an online auction that began September 30th and will close on October 8th, and is entitled “The Moving Sale Of Dr. Barbara Winfrey.” There is furniture and some other miscellaneous pieces available, and although nothing is an actual “Oprah” piece, it is understood that many of the pieces were purchased by her and so may fetch a hire price.
Some of the more interesting pieces of the auction include, according to the auction company, “four Mikhail Darafeev luxury bar stools, five Michael Thomas upholstered chairs, lots of art and several RHO Mobili D’Epoca pieces.”
Of course, you can always go look for yourself – and who knows? – maybe even find something to bid on!
